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Post by Daniel on May 4, 2015 14:24:41 GMT -5
NATO & allies stage thousands-strong drills across Europe
May 04, 2015 / RTNews
Three sets of military exercises kicked off in Europe on Monday, involving thousands of servicemen from a variety of NATO nations and their allies, amid a wave of similar action across the area.
Estonia is holding its largest-ever military drills. Named Siil-2015 (Hedgehog), the maneuvers involve about 13,000 personnel. The number includes about 7,000 reservists, along with members of the volunteer Estonian Defense League.
Siil-2015, scheduled to last until May 15, also involves forces from the US, the UK, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Belgium, Poland and the Netherlands. American troops, who are staying in Estonia as part of the massive training operation Atlantic Resolve, will bring four Abrams main battle tanks to the exercise. British, Belgian and German air defense units, as well as several NATO warplanes, will also take part.
The Lithuanian Army is holding its own maneuvers as part of the largest national drills called Zaibo Kirtis (Lightning Strike). The training involves over 3,000 troops. It is focused on joint action by the army and civilian authorities against so-called hybrid threats combining both military and non-military methods of fighting, according to Army Commander Major-General Jonas Vytautas Zukas.
continue reading rt.com/news/255389-nato-lithuania-estonia-exercises/
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Post by Daniel on May 4, 2015 14:27:47 GMT -5
Poland approves joint force with Ukraine & Lithuania, calls on EU to spend more on defense
May 04, 2015 / RTNews
Poland's President Bronislaw Komorowski has signed a resolution approving the organization of a joint Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian brigade, whose creation has been in the works since 2007.
When brought to full operation in 2017, the brigade is set to constitute 4,500 servicemen. They will operate separately from the three countries' respective militaries, but will take part in NATO exercises and missions. Preliminary drills are scheduled for later this year. The brigade will be stationed at its headquarters in Libulin, Poland. So far, it only houses 250 servicemen and 50 command staff contributed by the Polish military.
The joint force was discussed as far back as 2007, but the agreement to create it was signed by the three countries' defense ministers in September 2014, in response to the Ukrainian crisis and what they call Russian aggression.
Creating the joint force is “part of a wider plan … to support Ukraine, among others, in the area of modernization,” President Bronislaw Komorowski said as cited by Reuters.
He also urged other European countries to spend more on defense. To that end, President Komorowski has suggested excluding defense spending from EU rules on budget deficit limits. This means that EU nations will be able to allocate more money to the military without fearing increased budget controls from Brussels. Komorowki's offer comes at a time of heightened tensions with Russia.
continue reading rt.com/news/255441-poland-ukraine-lithuania-brigade/
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Post by sevenofnine on May 4, 2015 19:01:35 GMT -5
This pretty eyeowner the Poles are getting involving
I think Vlady want be Tsar of Eastern Europe
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Post by Daniel on May 6, 2015 8:37:47 GMT -5
This pretty eyeowner the Poles are getting involving I think Vlady want be Tsar of Eastern Europe Yes, Poland seems to be taking the lead here. I don't think they're very interested in Vlady's plans or any Tzars.
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Post by sevenofnine on May 6, 2015 10:45:16 GMT -5
Yeah Poland and Russia have little history here they don't like Russians go back way back in da day during Tsar days
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Post by Daniel on Aug 14, 2015 9:51:50 GMT -5
Russia and Nato 'actively preparing for war'
By Roland Oliphant, Moscow 12 Aug 2015
Russia and Nato are actively preparing for war with one another amid the greatest build up of military tension in Europe since the end of the Cold War, a new report says.
Rival exercises by the Russian armed forces and Nato have led to several near-miss incidents that could result in confrontation between the two sides, and leaders need to consider a new arms control treaty to avert the possibility of heightened tensions spilling into war.
The report by the European Leadership Network, a think tank, comes amid the most intense fighting for six months in eastern Ukraine and as Michael Fallon, the defence minister, pledged to expand a British army training mission to Ukraine.
“We do not suggest that the leadership of either side has made a decision to go to war or that a military conflict between the two is inevitable, but that the changed profile of exercises is a fact and it does play a role in sustaining the current climate of tensions in Europe,” the authors write.
The report outlines how both Nato and Russia have primed their forces to respond to an escalation since the Ukraine crisis erupted in early 2014.
The preparations include major military exercises by both Russia and Nato that appear designed exclusively to respond to one another’s capabilities and potential war plans.
continue reading www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11797351/Russia-and-Nato-actively-preparing-for-war.html
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